On the shelves of the Mary W. Runnells Rare Book Room at The Field Museum's library, there are 18 original letters written by Charles Darwin. They are part of Darwin's extensive correspondence and in 1948 the Museum received them as part of Benjamin D. Walsh's entomology library. Walsh, a British immigrant based in Illinois, was a self taught scientist who admired Darwin's theory of evolution. During his last five years of life, Walsh exchanged several letters with Darwin in which they shared personal stories as well as scientific findings. Thanks to the Library's efforts, these letters are now part of the Darwin Correspondence Project's digital archive. Read more about Video: Dear Benjamin Walsh

Corrie Moreau is an Assistant Curator of Insects at The Field Museum and part of her research focuses on understanding the life history of turtle ants (Cephalotes varians). This species of ants is remarkable because of their dish-like heads that act as living doorways. In other words, large workers of turtle ants can use their heads to block the entrance of their nests and thus preventing intruders from coming in. Read more about Video: Turtle Ants

Josh Drew has done most of his research in Fiji and this has allowed him to get an intimate understanding of Fijian culture. Acanthaster planci is the scientific name for a starfish know as the Crown of Thorns and that in Fijian is called 'Na Bula'. Enjoy an interesting story about a starfish that can play a major role in it's ecosystem and how Josh's research has been benefited by sharing with local communities in Fiji. Read more about Video: Na Bula, Fiji's Crown of Thorns

Paradisea apoda. What is it and what does it mean? Who described it and where does it come from?John Bates is the curator of the Birds Department at The Field Museum and he shares with us a fantastic story about a beautiful bird of paradise that was once in the hands of the English naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace. Read more about Video: A Bird of Paradise with John Bates

The world's oldest carrion beetle fossils were found in China and represent species that were alive 165 million years ago. Follow Margaret Thayer and Chenyang Cai as they work together at The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago to yield new insights into this family of beetles, called Silphidae. Read more about Video: Fossil Carrion Feeders